Thirty years ago, KTM introduced the first Duke model. Supermotard, now known as Supermoto, was relatively big back then, and many riders were transforming dirt bikes into road bikes by installing 17-inch wheels, a bigger front brake, and performing some minor suspension work. These bikes proved to be exceptionally nimble on pavement, and lots of fun to ride. KTM made lots of dirt bikes — some of them street-legal — but it had no dedicated street bikes. Then, someone at KTM put 17-inch wheels on the 620 E/XC enduro, a bike powered by the 609 cc liquid-cooled LC4 single that made an impressive 50 horsepower. However, it wasn’t enough to just swap wheels; the bike had to look like a dedicated road bike, and not a converted dirt bike. That’s when KTM designer Gerald Kiska drew up entirely new bodywork that included a funky, dual-headlight bikini fairing — the Terminator was born. Ah yes, “Terminator” was an early project name for the new KTM street bike. The name eventually settled upon was Duke, paying homage to “The Duke,” famed motorcycle road racer Geoff Duke.
“THE 990 REPLACES
